The phrase "attempts to separate" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it when discussing efforts or actions aimed at distinguishing or dividing two or more elements, concepts, or groups.
Example: "The study attempts to separate the effects of diet and exercise on overall health."
Alternatives: "tries to distinguish" or "seeks to divide".
This paper attempts to separate the vibration sources, especially piston slap, by using blind source separation techniques with the intention of revealing the potential of the new technique for solving mechanical vibration problems.
Several attempts to separate all nine oligonucleotides were done during the investigations; however, a complete separation of studied biomolecules was not possible, even if the time of analysis was equal 30 min.
She resists attempts to separate her more mainstream work from her science fiction.
She clings to her mother at the onset of the visitation and all attempts to separate her have failed.
As far as veterans' firearms go, the NRA has also blocked attempts to separate those suicidal individuals from lethal weapons.
Overall, attempts to separate twins joined at the head have had a high death rate, about 50percentt.
The draft riots followed years of politicians' and middle-class reformers' attempts to separate the two groups.
It is hard to judge how many people support the armed takeover of government buildings and attempts to separate from Ukraine, but feelings are running high.
In that respect, attempts to separate the Times and the Guardian, on the one hand, and WikiLeaks, on the other, should be seen as entirely political.
Attempts to separate these smaller constituent particles require ever-increasing amounts of energy and result in the creation of new subatomic particles, many of which are charged.
But attempts to separate that effect out by looking at growth rates well after a spike in debt do indicate slower growth after higher debt.
